Comment by dotancohen

  > But the public also lost all interest in the process, some can't even be bothered to vote once every other year....

In the 1920s the German speaking world got a book whose first three chapters just hammer in how important it is for the average citizen to take an interest in his local politics. That book was subsequently banned by almost every European country in the decades since. I'm the only person I know who has personally read it, even though it is one of the most derided books in history.

I highly recommend the first three chapters to anybody who thinks they don't need to understand their local politics.